Patients in England want right to see GPs with 24 hours enshrined in NHS

Exclusive: Royal College of GPs says constitution guarantee would just pile on pressure given loss of 1,000 practices in past 10 years

Seven in 10 people want to be able to see a GP urgently within 24 hours, research by the NHS’s patient watchdog has found.

Almost three-quarters (71%) of voters in England support automatic access to a family doctor within one day of requesting an appointment for a health problem they consider cannot wait.